Professional Development Opportunities for Post-docs and Graduate Students

Unsure of your plans after your time as a graduate students or post-doc? Listed below are professional development opportunities at the LRSM and other organizations at Penn.

Penn Center for Innovation (PCI)

The PCI programs broaden graduate student education to include the business side of science and engineering. The PCI runs a series of seminars with recent topics including university-industry partnerships, novel approaches to commercialization, patents and protecting intellectual property, how to transition science from the lab into a startup, etc. The PCI also runs a Fellows program in which graduate students and post-docs work 5-10 hours per week assessing invention disclosures and doing marketing assessments. This gives students/post-docs a way to learn about translational research, tech transfer, and entrepreneurship.

Teaching opportunities

Post-docs and graduate students have many chances to get involved through the LRSM. Examples of such experiences include teaching within our PREM program at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), teaching (on-site) in our REU, RET and PSSI programs, and teaching through other novel media developed in our Education & Outreach programs such as the Philadelphia Science Festival, Philadelphia Materials Day, etc. The more formal teaching engagements are often preceded by training, focused on the immediate goals of corresponding programs. Shared experimental facilities (SEFs) in the LRSM also provide selected MRSEC post-docs (e.g., those who codirect SEFs) with exposure to “management” issues.

For more information on these teaching experiences and/or to get involved, contact Mark Licurse (mlicurse@lrsm.upenn.edu).

Biomedical Postdoctoral Program (BPP)

LRSM post-docs are officially supported to attend an independent post-doctoral mentoring program at Penn, the Biomedical Postdoctoral Program (BPP). Their two-year program includes both core and optional (i.e., more medical) training to help post-docs transition to independence. Core training is relevant to LRSM postdocs; it encompasses scientific writing & grant applications, public speaking & presentation, negotiation & business skills, gender & cultural awareness, & corporate etiquette. In addition, the Office of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety runs mandatory training sessions within BPP on chemical hygiene & radiation safety. BPP and the Center for Bioethics offer seminars oriented towards Responsible Research Conduct, including discussion of data management; ownership of intellectual property; mentor/trainee responsibilities; publication practices & responsible authorship; peer review; rights of collaborators; research misconduct; conflict of interest; and compliance with existing Federal and Penn policies. Finally, BPP and the University’s Career Services Office organize a Career Workshop Series that addresses basic job search skills, careers in industry, academia, and other sectors.